LE>32IS 

.M2. A4 
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MAINE! 

E D U C AT IONAL 
DEPT 

IMPROVE ME NT 

OF SCHOOL 
BU I LOl NGS and 

GROursiOS 



..-.. - r \ ■J- .:■-■■■' $% 




Improvement 

of School Buildings 

and Grounds 



State of Maine 

Educational Department 
1904 






Copies of this pamphlet will be sent on application to W. W. Stetson, 
State Superintendent of Public Schools. 
Augusta, Maine. 



SEP21 m7 

a of a 



.1 






3 
s 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND 
GROUNDS. 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN OTHER STATES. 

More than sixty years ago the well-known poet, Mrs. Lydia 
K. Sigourney, sounded the true note of progress in the improve- 
ment of the physical surroundings of the school in a paper read 
before a teachers' convention in Connecticut. Her words may 
be taken as an indication of the spirit that was even then begin- 
ning to manifest itself. She says, "I hope the time is coming 
when every isolated village schoolhouse shall be a temple on 
whose exterior the occupant may study the principles of sym- 
metry and of grace. Why need the structures where the young 
are initiated into those virtues which make life beautiful be 
divorced from taste or devoid of comfort ? Why should they not 
be erected in fine, airy situations, overshadowed with trees and 
embellished with shrubbery? Why should not the velvet turf 
attached to them be bordered with hedges, divided by gravel 
walks, tufted with flowers?" She further states that it is the 
testimony of teachers "That it is easier to enforce habits of neat- 
ness and order among objects whose taste and value make them 
worthy of care than amid that parsimony of apparatus whose 
very pitiful meanness operates as a temptation to waste and to 
destroy ;" and she adds the suggeston still appropriate, "Let 
the communities now so anxious to raise the standard of educa- 
tion venture the experiment of a more liberal adornment of the 
buildings devoted to it." 

During the last half century much has been done to improve 
our schools in the matters outlined in the above quotation. The 
State of Wisconsin has taken great interest in planting trees and 
in the protection of birds. Its Department of Public Instruction 
has issued an Arbor and Bird Day Annual since 1899. The vol- 



ume for 1903 contains excellent illustrations of school buildings 
and school grounds and indicates that the State has made great 
progress in this direction. One specially noteworthy article in 
this Annual gives an account of the improvements made within 
twenty years in the Dodgeville school grounds. Trees of attrac- 
tive foliage and form were sought miles away in the woods, care- 
fully taken up and reset in the school-yard. Hedges of arbor 
vitae were planted to screen the outbuildings. The grounds 
were graded and a handsome lawn secured. Each spring a 
coating of land plaster and ashes gave increased rapidity of 
growth and richness of coloring to the grass. Rustic baskets 
were made and flower beds planted ; iron vases were provided 
and all these, when filled with flowers, made the grounds bright 
with beauty and color. Clematis, moon-seed, wisteria, Virginia 
creeper, and climbing roses were planted near the walls of the 
school buildings, and to-day their foliage almost covers these 
spaces and enhances the beauty of the architecture. 

The school building is described as set well back from the road 
with a spacious, open area in front and playgrounds in the rear. 
A pansy bed is found in a shady corner, while clusters of foliage 
plants, a bed of cannas, one of geraniums, another of verbenas 
and a hedge of sweet peas make the enclosure a scene of great 
beauty. Rows of arbor vitae partially shut off the playground; 
climbing roses nearly reach the second story windows and cover 
one side of the buildings with their showy blossoms; Virginia 
creepers already overarch the main entrance and will soon cover 
the entire front of the building. 

The great interest the pupils have shown in this work from the 
beginning is one of its most charming features. In nearly 
every school the pupils can be enlisted in similar work and the 
moral results, the effect upon the spirit of the school, obtained 
by such co-operation, will more than repay the outlay of time 
and effort. 

The Arbor Day Annual of the State of New York for 1903 
has an artcle suggesting improvements that should be made in 
rural school buildings and grounds. It says it is almost impos- 
sible to find a village that has not a creditable school building 
and that some of the recent buildings in the larger cities are 




THE BADLY ARRANGED SCHOOLROOM. 

Disorder, idleness, mischief, discomfort, ill-temper, disease — due to 
unfavorable physical conditions. 




THE WELL ARRANGED SCHOOLROOM. 

Good order and industrious habits fostered, comfort and health 
promoted by favorable physical conditions. 



veritables palaces ; while, with some notable exceptions, in the 
rural sections the school buildings are not materially better than 
they were forty years ago. 

The writer asks for at least an acre of land for each school lot ; 
that this be fenced and graded, and states that it is far better for 
the children to do most of the work of beautifying the grounds 
because in this way they will value the improvements more 
highly and will more carefully protect them. He suggests that 
the teacher make a sketch of the grounds, showing the size and 
location of the buildings and enlist some competent person in 
preparing a plan for planting and grouping flowers and trees 
and locating walks and drives. 

Much can be done with flowers at little cost. The neighbors 
will be glad to give phlox, iris and many other perennials. For 
covering an arbor or outbuilding, nothing is finer than clematis, 
with its beautiful clean foliage and its masses of white flowers. 
Honeysuckles will answer the same purpose. If roses are to 
be used, the crimson rambler will be found satisfactory. Of 
hardy bulbs, crocuses, tulips, peonies, irises are recommended; 
of annuals those should be selected which blossom while 'the 
school is in session, such as petunias, poppies, morning glories 
and nasturtiums. 

If the children take charge of this work, there will result 
added knowledge, increased enthusiasm and an ever growing 
love for the school. 

The wild flower garden of the Putnam school, Boston, was 
first planted in the spring of 1891 and, in the course of the first 
five years, 150 species of wild flowers were introduced. Among 
these were fourteen species of goldenrod, twenty of wild asters 
and other plants of field, forest and meadow, with twenty-eight 
species of ferns. To increase the beauty of the garden there 
were, added hardy chrysanthemums, rose bushes, ' phlox, sun- 
flowers, eleven kinds of iris, vines, etc. Most of the plants 
flourished in their new home, since care was taken to place them 
in conditions similar to those from which they were taken. They 
were used by the pupils in their elementary science lessons. 
The plants in bloom were described in written lessons and 
drawn with colored pencils or painted in water colors. Note- 
books were kept and into these were pasted characteristic parts 



of each plant studied ; these books, taken into the country 
during the summer vacations, enabled the pupils to identify 
growing flowers, or to discover new species to be studied on 
their return. 

After three wars' experience with the flower garden, a vacant 
lot near by was plowed and made into a vegetable garden. 

Girls as well as boys took part in planting and caring for the 
garden, developing skill and endurance in the work and in some 
cases they insisted upon doing all the labor themselves, including 
even the first spading of the ground. Among the vegetables 
raised were summer squashes, beets, carrots, parsnips, onions, 
tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, corn, bush beans, cabbages and tur- 
nips. Parents became interested in the work done by .the chil- 
dren and many home gardens of flowers and common vegetables 
were planted as the. result of this training. 

As was to be expected, the moral influence of this work upon 
the children has been most helpful. A sense of responsibility, 
the exercise of self-denial for the sake of future results, the 
training in industry and carefulness, these and other like con- 
siderations are to be added to the physical and intellectual bene- 
fits received. This experiment has proved that it is exceedingly 
helpful to school work for teachers and pupils to be bound 
together by common interests. 

In the State of Vermont the Department of Education has 
recognized the newly awakened interest in Nature study by 
issuing circulars upon such topics as "Nature Study and School 
Homes," "The Trees of Vermont," "School Sanitation." "The 
Study of Trees" and "The Study of Birds." 

The Rhode Island school report for 1901 contains a valuable 
article on the topic "School Gardens in Cities," treating of the 
work in Europe and the United States. The writer states that 
there are now over 100,000 school gardens in Europe, of which 
5,000 are in Sweden, 30,000 in France and 10,000 have been 
made in the villages of Russia since the freeing of the serfs, in 
1 86 1. They were introduced into Germany 80 years ago. In 
Belgium, since 1873, the law has required each school to have a 
garden to be used in connection with instruction in botany, horti- 
culture and agriculture. In France no plan for a school build- 
ing, to which the state contributes, has been accepted since 1887 




IMPROPERLY ARRANGED ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. 

B — Bench, C — Chimney, D — Desks, d — Door, S — Stove, 
T— Teacher's Table, W— Window. 




W6 



W6 



PROPERLY ARRANGED ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. 

B C— Bookcase, C— Chimney, D— Desk, d— Door, P T— Primary 
Pupils' Table, S J— Stove Jacket, S— Stove, T T— Teacher's 
Table, W— Window, W bb— Wood Boxes, W B— Water 
Buckets. 



unless it made provision for a garden. In the United States the 
work is more recent, but a good beginning has been made in 
various parts of the country. 

The Hesperia movement of Michigan recognizes the need of 
a more intimate knowledge of the schools on the part of parents 
and other citizens. It seeks to meet this need through a series 
of meetings held in each county every year under the auspices of 
"Teachers' and Patrons' Associations." These meetings con- 
tinue for a number of days and the programs include papers and 
discussions of school interests from the standpoint of parents, 
teachers and school officials. 

In some counties of the State the Associations hold numerous 
local meetings with one general meeting during the year. The 
Associations, through their Executive Committees, prepare 
reading courses for their members. 

The Teachers' and Patrons' Associations aim to bring about 
school improvement by means of a general quickening of public 
interest in the schools. They do not themselves undertake to 
accomplish specific results. These results they leave to be 
wrought out by the individual members. 

The expenses of the meetings are provided for by the annual 
membership fee which, in most Associations, is fifty cents. 

A prominent factor in the success of the Hesperia movement 
has been the Grange in whose halls the meetings are usually held 
and whose officers and members have been prominent in pro- 
moting the Teachers' and Patrons' Associations. 

This movement has been of incalculable benefit to the schools 
of Michigan because of the broader knowledge of their work 
and the more intimate acquaintance with their needs that have 
"been gained by the people. Out of it have undoubtedly come 
many material improvements in the condition and surroundings 
of the Michigan schools. 

The Georgia scheme of model schools aims primarily to show 
the importance of manual training in the rural schools. 

The Federation of Women's Clubs of Georgia, appreciating 
the importance of manual training and domestic science, agreed 
to establish a model school in the county offering the greatest 
inducement. 



10 



^ \J~FRB.Srt /l/R. 




^ Foundation Plan 




FLOOR PLAN FOR ONE ROOM RURAL SCHOOLHOUSE. 

B C— Bookcase, B D T— Book and Dictionary Table, D— Doors, P P T— 
Primary Pupils' Table, S— Stove, S J— Stove Jacket, T D— Teacher's 
Desk, W — Windows, W B — Water Buckets, Arrows — Furnace Reg- 
isters. 



II 

The school was established at Danielsville and has now in 
attendance two hundred and fifty pupils. As a result of its 
establishment three other counties of the State have been led to 
found similar schools. 

Among the conditions that have to be met in establishing 
these schools are the following: — The school building and 
equipment shall be adequate, the surroundings neat and attrac- 
tive and the teaching force trained and efficient. 

These schools receive visits from citizens and teachers from 
other sections of the counties in which they are located and, as 
a result of these visits, the importance of better physical sur- 
roundings and trained teachers is seen. The lessons thus 
learned are helpful to all the schools of the State. 

Georgia is making heroic efforts to raise the grade of her 
public schools. The scheme of county model schools furnishes 
a visible example of correct school conditions and is proving a 
helpful agency in bringing the schools of the State to a com- 
mendable standard. 

VALUE 01? THIS WORK. 

As the general style of living improves, the school must keep 
pace with this march or cease to be one of the agencies in the 
world's progress. What was good enough for the fathers is not 
good enough for the children. The whole style of living has 
changed. The log house of the settler and the log school house 
for his children went appropriately together; but now, with our 
homes of comfort and beauty, corresponding changes must be 
made in our schoolrooms. In some cases these improvements 
have been made and the schools, with their equipment and sur- 
roundings, are in harmony with the other institutions of the 
community. In many instances, however, the schools have not 
received the attention they merit and it is evident the time has 
come for giving serious attention to their betterment. No one 
urges that we go back to stage coaches, to log cabins, to old- 
fashioned plows, to home-spun clothing, and no one should be 
content with former conditions for our schools, either in their 
appliances or methods. Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and 
the voungf Garfield on the other might illustrate, bv keen dis- 



12 

cussion, the central life of a university ; but no sane man would 
thereby argue that extensive buildings, spacious grounds and 
modern apparatus are not essential to the work the university 
must do today. What has been made to answer in the past will 
not do now ; everything must be adjusted to the demands of the 
present and of the near future. 

The needs of those who are to come after us must be taken 
into account, since many of the improvements to be made are 
intended to be permanent in their character. The extent of the 
grounds, the size of the school buildings, the trees and shrubs to 
be planted, these and many other things must be decided upon 
after taking into consideration the changed conditions which the 
passing years will bring. Every permanent improvement justi- 
fies a liberality of expenditure not warranted in any changes of 
a temporary nature. How often the mistake has been made of 
planning and building on too small a basis only to find that, 
in a few years, the growth of the community requires a complete 
reconstruction of the whole plant. 

The sanitary arrangements should be carefully adjusted at the 
start and should thereafter be kept in the best possible condition. 
An "abomination of desolation" is none too strong a term to 
describe the outbuildings of some of our schools in the past, if 
not in the present. In our city and village schools, where there 
is a water supply, the best modern plumbing should be used and 
should be frequently inspected. In every case the utmost care 
should be taken that, in this matter, there be no occasion for 
offense either from a sanitary or aesthetic point of view. 

Tasteful coloring of the walls and ceilings, appropriate pic- 
tures and other ornaments will give a cheerful, homelike ap- 
pearance to the room that will add to its attractiveness and 
strengthen the hold of the school upon the heart and mind of the 
pupils. If children could only enter the schoolroom with the 
zest and gladness with which they leave it ! And why not ? Is 
it not true that "In every period of life the acquisition of knowl- 
edge is one of the most pleasing employments of the human 
mind, but in youth there are reasons which make it productive 
of higher enjoyment?" Make the schoolroom as beautiful as 
our best homes ; let the kindly, cheerful spirit of the family be 



13 



brought into it ; let the school building have a proper setting of 
lawn and trees and shrubbery and flowers; let it have its ample 
playground and school garden and, perhaps, the creeping with 
snail-like pace to school will be more rare. By a strange para- 
dox the luxuries of life are sometimes more needful than the 
necessities : or perhaps a better statement would be that what 
some regard as luxuries in school furnishing are, from the right 







A PRACTICAL AND ECONOMICAL ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. 

Building plan. 26ft x 36ft outside measurement. 

point of view, absolute necessities. As every advance in civili- 
zation makes new demands for greater conveniences of living, 
so every improvement in educational methods demands addi- 
tional facilities. 

The school building should be attractive without as well as 
within, made so not by excess of ornamentation, but by sym- 
metry of form and simplicity of style. It would be difficult to 
estimate the influence for good of such a school home upon the 



14 

pupils and indeed upon the entire community. A true apprecia- 
tion of the work of the school, as manifested by such surround- 
ings, will tend to give it respect and dignity. The man of busi- 
ness who should model his store after the style of many of our 
school buildings would be doomed to failure from the start. In 
these days there are so many counter attractions, so many allure- 
ments to entice our children elsewhere, so many forms of amuse- 
ment, so many inducements to short cuts and brief courses of 
study, that whatever will tend to bind our young people more 
closely to school and to home has an untold value and usefulness. 
If home and school are to compete with these temptations, they 
must be fortified with every excellence they can possess. Such 
considerations give additional weight to the statement that "It 
is a poor type of school nowadays that has not a good play- 
ground attached." 

The question of school athletics has become an important one 
and, if our boys and young men are to participate in modern 
school games, there can surely be no place where they can do it 
more safely than on the school grounds, under the oversight of 
the school authorities. While the regular school work must 
never be neglected for these, they may be so regulated as to 
strengthen the bond of attachment for the school and to foster 
a school spirit that is most desirable. This spirit of loyalty to 
the school will find expression in a pride in the school grounds 
and in a readiness to assist in caring for them. 

Even before any of our states observed Arbor Day, in some 
schools a day in the early spring was devoted to an excursion to 
the woods for trees and shrubs and the planting of these upon 
the school grounds. As every feeling becomes intensified by 
expression, so the interest of citizens and pupils in the school 
will be heightened if some such opportunity is given for its mani- 
festation. By co-operation in this work a spirit of comradeship 
will be developed, binding together the school and its* neighbors 
in a spirit of good fellowship. It is better that the children share 
in the work, or even be entirely responsible for it, than that these 
things be paid for by the town. The co-operation of the teachers 
and scholars, the kindly feeling engendered, a love for the school 
and loyalty to it, a taste for the beautiful and an elevating and 
refining influence that will be felt throughout the community are 



15 

among- the results which give value to the work here suggested. 
The desire for improvement thus awakened will prove conta- 
gious and many a home will become a center of grace and cul- 
ture. 

The observance of the principles of neatness and order with- 
out the school building will have great influence upon the work 
within. Refinement, courtesv, accuracv will be more easilv at- 




^^SSmif 



A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF NO. 7. 



tained when the surrounding conditions are favorable. Envi- 
ronment is so potent a factor that its assistance is necessary to 
the best results. 

The changes taking place in methods of education, the addi- 
tions made to the number of subjects taught, the broader edu- 
cation now demanded for either business or professional life, the 



i6 

strain and stress of modern school life with its tests, its exam- 
inations, its percentages, all these and other like considerations, 
demand that the school work be pursued under the most helpful, 
cheerful and healthful conditions possible. With the increased 
wealth of the country and the rapid development of its resources, 
there is no- good reason why every facility should not be given 
to secure the best possible training for the most important and 
valuable product of the age, the children. As school life is to 
play so large a part in shaping their character and destiny, it is 
not too much to ask for it the best attainable equipment and 
surroundings. Adequate and beautiful buildings, ample and 
attractive grounds and suitable appliances will be found to be 
the truest economy and the highest wisdom. 

One important result coming from extensive grounds for city 
schools will be found in the increased interest in Nature and in 
rural life. An appreciation of the charms of the country fos- 
tered by the study of birds and flowers, by school gardens, lawns 
and groves may save many a one from the allurements of city 
life. 

That farmer is wise who gives his children land for their own 
care and profit and, by papers, magazines, books and social 
opportunities, makes country life attractive. Improved forms of 
machinery have lessened the drudgery of the farm ; horses now 
do much of the work formerly done by the slower oxen or by 
hand labor ; rural free delivery brings the daily paper to the door 
and by giving the young people some definite share in the results 
of the labor of the farm we may help to retain them among the 
safer influences of rural life. 



CONDITIONS IN MAINE). 

The abolition of school districts, the employment of superin- 
tendents for city schools, the union of two or more smaller towns 
in a district for securing a trained superintendent, the consoli- 
dation of smaller schools and the free transportation of their 
pupils have done much towards that most to be desired end, the 
furnishing of "equal school privileges to all children of school 
age in the State." 

As so many of our schools are in rural localities it may be 
thought that any project for the improvement of school buildings 



and grounds would meet with little favor and result in slight 
benefit; but any one slightly acquainted with the facts can see at 
once the necessity of such action and realize its possibilities for 
good. The smallest as well as the largest school building in the 
State ought to be a thing of beauty. There is greater need of a 
finely modeled school edifice in a rural section than in a city. In 
the latter there are so many beautiful homes, churches and other 
buildings that additional examples are of less moment. A simi- 
lar principle applies to the parks and public gardens of the city. 








«<» 



FRONT VIEW OF NO. 7. 



These can never serve as substitutes for large open spaces 
around the school, nor can they be used as school gardens, but 
they may, perhaps, make the necessity for the latter less impera- 
tive. In a rural community where land is less expensive, where 
trees, wild flowers, ferns and shrubs are close at hand, there is 
no excuse for leaving the school lot desolate. The school garden 
may be less necessary where every family has a garden in its own 
home grounds, but it may be said that the school garden may, in 
competent hands, serve as a model that shall be of great benefit 



i8 

to the whole neighborhood and so far as the wild flowers and 
ferns are concerned there is no danger that the school garden 
will suffer from any rivalship. Its mission of education is need- 
ed to open the eyes to the beautiful things that are close at hand 
and can be readily procured. The study of botany is immedi- 
ately practical to those who have the largest opportunity of 
observation. Even the oldest inhabitant may have little knowl- 
edge of the botanical treasures that are lurking near by in swamp 
and woods and meadow. If the children have their interest 
early awakened in the plants and birds about them it will give 
to life an added zest and charm. 

A well ordered, well kept school garden would not only give 
instruction in the best practical methods in horticulture, but 
would give an introduction to the plant life of the vicinity and, 
in many cases, would so open the eyes of the pupils and others 
influenced by them as to give a closer and happier relationship 
with Nature and a broader and more generous view of life. 
Improved methods and appliances in gardening would give an 
additional interest to life in the country. Why should not our 
children be taught to take something of that interest in Nature 
which so delights one in the writings of Thoreau or Emerson, 
of John Burroughs or of Bradford Torrey? To enrich the 
school life of the country boy with a wider knowledge of trees 
and flowers, of birds and other animals would be of great prac- 
tical value to him in whatever circumstances his subsequent life 
might be spent. Interest in such objects is a source of perennial 
pleasure. One cherishes in memory special occasions of suc- 
cesses or surprises in finding rare flowers or unusual numbers of 
more common ones and enjoys again their beauty as Words- 
worth so quaintly expresses it in his poem on "The Daffodils." 

"I gazed and gazed, but little thought 
What wealth that show to me had brought. 

For oft when on my couch I lie, 

In vacant or in pensive mood. 
They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude ; 
And then my heart with pleasure fills 

And dances with the daffodils." 

That education is practical which enables us to make all 
Nature tributary to our aesthetic enjoyment and mental and 



19 

moral growth. It is as important to learn the vegetable produc- 
tions of one's own town as it is to know -that tea is grown in 




The blackboard plan. 




Suggestions for the planting of a corner 
school-yard. 

China or coffee in Brazil. Such knowledge sometimes has 
immediate practical value. Persons are often severely poisoned 
by handling plants poisonous to the touch of those who are 
sensitive to their influence. 

Better school buildings, furnishings, grounds, are important 
factors in the general progress of the State. The schools must 
furnish the best material surrounding and finest intellectual 
stimulus if the}' are to fulfil the constantly increasing demands 
laid upon them. 



20 



HOW TO INTEREST PUPILS IN THIS WORK. 

Our whole system of education exists, primarily, for the bene- 
fit of the children and, unless they are interested and have a share 
in everything connected with the school, they will reap but little 
advantage from what is done. They must be consulted and 
induced to co-operate from the beginning. The best help is that 
which teaches self-help. We must appeal to the desire to be of 
service. Nothing pleases a child more than to have the teacher 
ask for some trifling assistance which he can easily render. A 
wise teacher will attach her pupils to her by making them her 
assistants in various matters of school detail. Just as in a well 
regulated home children may be made to share in its work and 
held responsible for such matters as are within their ability, so 
both within and without the school they will be glad to co- 
operate in making changes and improvements. A special task 
may be assigned to a particular group in such a way that the 
assignment will be regarded as an honor and will indeed be con- 
sidered a reward for faithfulness in school work. Some one of 
the group may be chosen leader and it will be found that a feel- 
ing of responsibility, a sense of usefulness, a joy in service may 
be developed that will have great value in many ways. If a 
spirit of emulation should arise, even this feeling may be utilized 
if care be taken that it does not degenerate into a spirit of 
unwholesome rivalry. 

In some cases a particular day, May Day, for example, may be 
devoted to work upon the grounds, or to excursions to neigh- 
boring woods for trees, shrubs, flowering plants and ferns. If 
friends outside the school are asked to share in the excursion, the 
trip may result in enlisting the community in the work. It is a 
great gain when the pupils come to feel that the school is their 
school, and that they are responsible for making it what it ought 
to be. The results obtained by united effort in improving 
exterior conditions and interior arrangements will tend to more 
hearty co-operation in raising the work of the schoolroom itself 
to its highest standard. Sympathetic relations between teacher 
and scholars have great value, but good order, gained by kindly 
feeling, or with its accompaniment, cannot be too highly prized. 
That teacher is wise who permits her pupils to do helpful acts 
even when she could more easily do them herself, because the 



21 



greater the interest and share taken by the pupils in beautifying 
the grounds and rooms, the greater will be the value of these 
improvements to the school. 




The common or nursery type of planting. 




The proper or pictorial type of planting. 

By tact the pupils may be led to do much for the development 
of a school spirit which will be of the utmost value. Committees 
may be appointed for special work, as a committee on bulbs for 
spring planting, on roses, wild or cultivated, on climbing plants, 
on wild flowers, on ferns, on the mowing of the lawn, or any one 
of the many things that need to be done. 



Where there are regular courses and classes with graduation, 
the senior class may wish to do something to connect their 
names permanently with the school. A picture may be pur- 
chased, or a bust, or medallion, or clock ; or a tree may be 
planted, or a flowering shrub, or some climbing plant and, if the 
custom be continued, in a few years valuable results will follow. 
Often the teacher will find it as needful to check and regulate 
as to awaken and foster the zeal of the pupils. The foregoing 
suggestions, if faithfully followed, will prove to be of great value 
in their influence on the school. 



HOW TO AWAKEN AN INTEREST ON THE PART OE THE COM- 
MUNITY. 

This is a problem that may prove to be more difficult of solu- 
lution ; but as this co-operation is of vital importance to the suc- 
cess of the enterprise, it must be gained at whatever cost. On 
general principles it would seem best to proceed along the line of 
least resistance and consult first the person most likely to favor 
the movement. In splitting wood it is sometimes better to rive 
off pieces from the sides of the stick, where they cleave off easily, 
and leave the central knot to the last, unsplit if need be ; in other 
cases strike first at the central difficulty and the rest is easy. It 
may be well to enlist first those who are the acknowledged lead- 
ers in the community while at the same time a special effort 
should be made to conciliate those who are likely to oppose the 
work. 

If a majority of the citizens can be reached and made to feel 
the importance of the enterprise, that its success is necessary to 
bring the town into line with the general progress of the times, 
it ought not to be difficult to gain their support and thus bring 
the whole neighborhood into sympathy with the work. Want of 
interest in most cases grows out of lack of accurate knowledge 
and, if the facts in the case are stated clearly, patiently waiting 
until they be fully understood, most people will be found willing 
to provide for their children what they are convinced is needful 
for their good. It is natural for persons to desire to be con- 
sulted in relation to matters towards which they are expected to 
contribute. There must be no taxation without representation. 
The way in which the first steps are taken may make, or mar, the 



23 

work attempted. So long as it is true that, in any place, men 
have provided, relatively, more comfortable buildings for the 
housing uf their dumb animals than for the schooling of their 
children, so long there will be, not only occasion, but urgent 
necessity for wisely directed missionary effort. 

When sufficient interest shall have been developed a public 
meeting may be called and conditions and needs clearly outlined. 
The facts will speak for themselves, but there will be need of 




This illustrates the school grounds after some years' growth, the 
grounds being originally laid out after plan shown in No. I. 

patience. The erection of a new building to replace the inade- 
quate one that disgraces the town, the addition of land to the too 
meagre lot, the fencing of the grounds and their proper grading 
and planting, suitahle furniture and equipment within, all these 
must usually come as a result of much discussion and of patient 
waiting. The general interests of the community demand that 
these things he furnished and all good citizens will be ready, 
when convinced of their need, to hear their part of the expense. 
Parents are best reachd and most interested in many of these 
matters through their children. The school and the home are 
so closely connected that hints, suggestions and talks given in the 
school will bring the subject into discussion at home. A definite 



24 

plan for the improvement of the school grounds will be likely to 
find approval and the needed assistance will be readily secured. 
The home surroundings will probably show the effects of the 
same spirit. Results far wider than those directly sought will 
be likely to follow. Pride in the school grounds and helpful- 
ness in improving them will readily develop into an interest in 
school work. 




A dainty bit of shrubbery. 

how to secure; the enlargement of the grounds. 
The size of the school lot depends upon the conception of what 
the school is to be. If it is to be a mere place for assigning and 
hearing lessons, a comparatively small area will be sufficient. 
But with an enlarged idea of the mission of the school as the cen- 
ter of a many sided busy life of study and recreation, of social 
and moral influences, of the learning of many things quite as 
important as a knowledge of books, larger grounds are impera- 
tively demanded. It has been said that the school grounds are 
the theatre where elementary problems of society and citizenship 
are worked out through the independent action of the child at 



25 



play. Play is too important an element in child growth to be 
hampered even for the purpose of preserving beautiful lawns 
and artistic flower beds. 

Ample playgrounds are essential to that vigorous health with- 
out which the mind cannot be alert and vigorous in its grasp 
of truth. Suitable spaces must separate the school from any 




SKETCH OF PLANTING 
Plan No. I. 

possible source of disturbance or contamination, physical or 
moral. If pure air is to be secured ; if there are to be trees and 
shrubbery and flowers and walks ; if the birds are to be wel- 
comed ; if all the surroundings are to be beautiful and healthful 
and uplifting, then larger grounds are needed. An acre will 
serve, but three or five acres would be much better. It is an 



26 



important question how this enlarged conception and its fulT 
realization can be secured. The friends of the movement must 
have a clear conviction of the necessity for additional grounds 
and then must do missionary work to convince all persons con- 
cerned that the proposed plans are reasonable and practicable. 




•mmv 

A border planting of trees. 





r i 



CL-. 





Trees enough in the center, but the place needs a background. 

When the citizens are aroused to a sense of the necessity o£ 
doing something the means for accomplishing the desired object 
will usually be found. Sometimes it will come by gifts from, 
some person of wealth, sometimes by solicited subscriptions,, 
sometimes by appropriations voted by the town. 



27 



The larger the city an 1 the more compact its population, the 
greater the necessity for ample areas about the school buildings. 
Most unfortunate arc the city children whose school lot is so 
small that the steps from the school doors lead directly to the 
brick pavements of the street and the rear court is a tiny space 
shut in by iron fences. 

The school may become an annoyance to its neighbors if it b-> 
placed too near them. It should be so retired that it will not be 
disturbed by the distractions of the street, or by any noisy voca- 
tion that may be carried on near by ; it should also be so 
secluded that the shouting of the children at their sports will 
not be a source of disturbance even to their nearest neighbors. 
The joyous clamor of the school grounds is an essential part of 
the school life and must not be prohibited by command or sur- 
roundings. 




A row of willows makes the place attractive. 



HOW TO LAY OUT THE GROUNDS. 

This will depend upon the size of the lot and how much is to 
be contained in it. If provision is to be made upon the school 
lot for athletic playgrounds then the}" should be well removed 
from the school building and laid out according to the estab- 
lished rules given in the manuals on the respective games. 
These should not usurp the place of the general playground, 
which should be placed well back from the street, but nearer to 
the school building:. 



28 



The school building itself should stand at least ioo ft. from 
the street line and, if possible, at about the same distance from 
the nearer side of the lot. 

Elm trees, or trees of a similar growth, may be placed at inter- 
vals along the street front in a single row so far apart that their 




A picture of which a schoolhouse is the central figure. 






An attractive schoolhouse and grounds. 

branches will never meet, but no low growing trees or shrubbery 
should obscure the view of the building from the street. If there 
be one front, main entrance, there may be one wide straight walk 
from the street to the front door ; but usually it would be prefer- 



-'•) 



able to have two winding paths meeting at the front door thus 
leaving the space in front to be occupied by a well kept lawn. 
The paths may begin near the outer limits of the lot describing 
graceful curves across the grounds and bordered by low shrubs 
or flowering bushes such as roses, weigelias, or hardy hydran- 
geas. The inner sides of the walks next to the front of the lawn 
may be lined by narrow beds of low flowering shrubs or hardy 




School grounds. From a photograph. 




The same grounds beautified, 
perennials, or these beds may be planted with hardy bulbs for 
early flowering-, with annuals planted among them for later 
blooming. A few beds of showy flowers may be placed on either 
or both sides of the buildings, but the wild flower garden and the 
vegetable garden would better be placed farther back. The entire 
lot, except the street line on the front or on two sides, if the lot is 
a corner one, may properly be surrounded by an irregular, some- 
what compact and varied mass of trees and, shrubbery of differ- 



30 




A five years' growth. 



3i 

ent sizes and styles of growth, comprising maples, chestnuts, 
birches, ashes, cherries, walnuts, oaks, spruces, firs, hemlocks, 
larches, willows and even alders and hazels, if the conditions 
are favorable. The idea is not to show the beauty of a single 
tree, but to border the grounds by varied groups and masses 
in such a way as to make a fitting frame work to enclose the 
picture which the buildings and more open grounds around it 
are to form. A neat fence may be placed around the 
whole, if local conditions render it necessary. Even then the 
more completely the fence is ' hidden from within the lot, 
by its screen of variegated hedgerow, the better. It should 
not be necessary, in any well conducted community, to fence 
the street line. There should be no trees so near the school- 
houses as to shade any considerable portion of the building 
or to conceal any part of the picture which the entire school 
premises are to form. What would answer well enough for 
nursery or orchard planting is entirely out of place on school 
grounds and, however else the trees may be set, they must not be 
made to stand in straight lines. In setting trees, a better effect 
will be secured if they are crowded more closely together than 
they can stand later ; then if some of the trees should fail to 
establish themselves, they will be less missed. They must be 
remorselessly cut out and thinned to the desired distance as soon 
as they begin to encroach upon one another. 

If lack of a water system for the town compels the use of out- 
houses, then these may be screened by well arranged clusters of 
arbor vitse, spruce or fir and a compact, broad line of these trees 
may soon replace the high fences or screens which are at first 
necessary. Nothing should be tolerated on the school grounds 
which would be objectionable on the best regulated home 
grounds in the community. All the influences surrounding our 
children should be as refining and elevating as possible. 



HOW TO GRADE THE GROUNDS. 

It would be better not to grade the grounds, than to reduce 
them to that dead level which many persons seem to think the 
normal condition for the school lot. The fields and courts for 
the athletic games should be nearly or quite level. In other 



32 

parts, as the lawns and gardens, there may be some considerable 
differences of elevation. The proper drainage of every part is 
most essential. The school building must be located in an airy, 
dry, slightly elevated position with good drainage in every direc- 
tion. No part of the lot should be so low as to receive the 
washings from adjoining property. Such considerations are the 
more important in places where there is no regular system of 
sewerage. The building should stand well above the street level 
so that the surface of the front part of the lot may slope grad- 
ually to the street and still be sufficiently elevated not to be injuri- 
ously affected by any probable raising of the grade of the road 
in front of the grounds. 

The schoolhouse should be so placed as to have a gradual 
slope on the other three sides of the lot. The grade of the lot 
must be decided upon before the walls of the cellar are laid and 
certain parts may be lowered and others raised, as may be 
needed, at any time before the building is occupied. 

The basement walls should rise at least three and one-half feet 
above the grade of the earth outside. The windows in these 
walls should be large enough to keep the basement well lighted 
and thoroughly ventilated. The condition of this room is very 
important and any neglect at this point is dangerous to the 
health of the entire school. 

No school can be either safe or successful that is not provided 
with pure air and pure water. The water must come from a 
spring or carefully guarded well. 



LOCATION OF DRIVES AND WALKS. 

If the lot be comparatively small, the only road needed is one 
leading to the rear of the building for the conveyance of the fuel 
supply. The same road may also be used for admission of 
pupils to the rear or side entrance and it would preferably enter 
the grounds from some other roadway than the one in front of 
the school. But if the lot be as large as has been previously sug- 
gested, a winding road may be made from the street in front of 
the grounds to the side entrances or to short paths leading to the 
front entrance. These drives may wind through different parts 
of the grounds as desired and they should be bordered by flower 
beds, flowering shrubs and the smaller trees. These roads 



33 

will be so little used that they may serve as walks as well as 
drives ; but narrower, curving footpaths may be added for reach- 
ing the flower garden, the wild flowers, the vegetable garden or 
play grounds. 

If the drives enter the grounds at two places from the road in 
front, then one of these entrances may be used, exclusively, 
for entering the school premises and the other for leaving them 
and in that case the drives need not be as wide as if there were 
to be frequent passing of one carriage by another. 

The line between the paths and the drives on the one side and 
the lawn and turf on the other should be made clear-cut and 
should be kept so. They should be slightly rounded, well 
graveled and properly cared for. 

If the school grounds are made as beautiful as they ought to 
be, parents and friends of the pupils and even strangers will be 
glad to inspect them and all such visits should be welcomed as 
tending to give new interest in" their proper care. Attractive and 
convenient grounds will stimulate pupils to take greater pride 
and interest in their school. 

PLANTING TREES, FLOWERS AND SHRUBS. 

Whoever plants a tree, in a proper position, becomes thereby 
a public benefactor. More than seventy years ago a man who 
had just built a house in one of our Maine villages went into the 
woods and found a small elm tree that divided near the ground 
into two trunks. He carried the tree to his home, separated the 
two with an axe and planted one on either side of the space 
before the house. Now they are magnificent trees, almost 
unrivaled in their symmetrical beauty. The trees remain, a liv- 
ing monument to the prevision of him who planted them. A 
long look ahead is what every one must take who would plant 
trees correctly. He must see, not the small tree he is setting, 
but the tree that is to be, long after he is gone. 

With ordinary means for transporting, small trees should be 
selected rather than larger ones. For elms and maples, eight or 
ten feet high is about the right size. These establish themselves 
more quickly than larger trees, are less injured by removal and 
are more likely to live. The extra work needed to remove and 
replant, correctly, the trees chosen, will be more than repaid by 

3 



34 

the increased probability of their living and the greater rapidity 
of growth. A space about five or six feet in diameter should be 
carefully spaded to the depth of at least two feet. The soil 
should then be thoroughly broken and, unless already very rich, 
should be mixed with good loam and with fine manure. For the 
actual setting out of the trees doubtless no better directions could 
be suggested than those given by the Forestry Division of the 
Agricultural Department at Washington. 

"Planting is best done by two or three persons. A, who 
manipulates the tree, is the planter and is responsible for the 
results. B and C do the spading under his direction. A places 
the tree in a hole to ascertain whether this is the proper size ; a 
broad stick laid across the hole aids in judging- the depth. Trees 
should not be set deeper than they were before except in loose, 
poor soil. More trees are killed by too deep planting than the 
reverse." As an illustration of this point it may be stated that 
trees are frequently killed, without removal, by raising the grade 
so that the soil is raised about their trunks a few inches higher 
than before. Valuable trees are frequently destroyed in this 
way. "If the root system is developed sidewise, but not cen- 
trally, as is often the case, a hill is raised in the hole to fill out 
the hollow space in the root system and the earth of the hill is 
patted down with the spade." 

"When the hole is in proper order, A holds the tree perpen- 
dicularly in the middle of the hole, with the side bearing the full- 
est branches towards the south or the southeast, for better protec- 
tion of the shaft against the sun. B and C spread the roots into 
a natural position and then fill in the soil, using the good surface 
soil first, — small spadefuls deliberately thrown over the roots in 
all directions, — while A, by a slight shaking and pumping up and 
down of the stem, aids the earth in settling around the rootlets, 
which should also be aided by hand and fingers filling in every 
crevice. A, while setting the tree, must exercise care to keep it 
in proper position and perpendicular, until the soil is packed so 
as to keep the tree in place. Then B and C rapidly fill the hole, 
A treading the soil firmly down after a sufficient quantity is filled 
in, finishing off a little above the general level to allow for set- 
tling and, finally, placing stones or any mulching around the 
stem." "Do not use water while planting unless it is very care- 
fully applied with a 'rose' after the soil is filled in and packed 



35 

around the fibrous roots. It is not uncommon to see water 
poured in the hole while it is being filled up. This practice does 
harm rather than good, for it washes the fine soil away from 
close contact with the roots, leaving- empty spaces between the 
roots, or even leaving, as the water dries and the earth hardens, 
the little rootlets in the midst of hollows like the inside of pipe- 
stems. In such a case they cannot touch the earth which gives 
them nutriment and they die. More trees are killed by too much 
water in transplanting than by too little. Water after the trans- 
planting is useful, and should be applied during the hot season, 
the late afternoon or evening being chosen for its application." 
Great care is also necessary in taking up the trees and protect- 
ing them until they are reset. If the tree is small and is to be 
moved but a short distance, it may be well to take up a ball of 
earth and allow it to remain on the roots ; but this would be an 
exception to the general rule. It might answer for a small pine 
or other evergreen, not more than, three or four feet high, and 
some vey excellent results are secured in this way. Ordinarily 
it is better to remove the original soil, taking great care to pre- 
serve as many of the smaller roots as possible and to protect 
these carefully from drying by exposure to sun or wind. It is 
not best to lop off the branches or cut the top off squarely, 
according to a too common custom, until what is left resembles 
a beanpole. A plant breathes through its leaves and, if it is to 
live and thrive, it must have a chance to develop a large amount 
of leaf surface. The loss of root surface, which will be slight if 
proper care is used, may be balanced by a judicious thinning out 
of the branches. Small branches may be cut off close to the 
trunk without harm. If no stump or projecting knot is left, the 
tree will soon cover the wound with new bark and decay will 
not penetrate to the heart of the tree. The same rule is to be 
followed in all pruning, namely, cut off the branch or limb as 
close to the parent branch or trunk as possible. After the tree 
has been well set it may be mulched with straw, spent tan bark, 
meadow hay or lawn clippings. The tree must not be used as a 
hitching post. If a drouth should occur before the trees are well 
established and the leaves show signs of withering, the surface 
soil should be loosened, enriched with fresh loam or fertilizer 
and then water given as needed. Fresh food will be necessary 
as well as water. Deciduous trees may be transplanted in the 



36 

early spring before the leaf buds have opened ; evergreen trees 
may be planted later. 

For many parts of the school grounds shrubs are more appro- 
priate than trees and may be placed nearer the school build- 
ing. In some cases, as where the basement wall extends well 
above the ground, they may soften the hard, angular lines be- 
tween the house and the ground and thus form masses of foliage 
about the base of the building. The hardy hydrangeas, spireas, 
syringas, lilacs, viburnums and elders are among the shrubs that 
may be used for this purpose. A hedge of common wild roses 
would be attractive when in bloom and not unpleasing when not 
in flower. Fortunately we have many shrubs that well deserve 
a place in the school yard. The hobble-bush is beautiful in blos- 
som and in its foliage; the high cranberry and its sterile form, 
the snowball, the elders, willows, dogwood, sumac, witch-hazel, 
thorn apple, mountain ash and others may also be used. The 
sides of the school lot not lying along the street should be lined 
with an irregular mass of trees and shrubs that should more 
nearly resemble the broken edges of our native woods than the 
prim straight line in which trees are often set. 

If the schoolhouse is of brick or stone, then the bare walls 
may be broken into smaller spaces by ivy, clematis and wood- 
bine. If the building be of wood, the vines may be supported on 
trellises. Vines are not so appropriate for a wooden building, 
on account of the painting required by such buildings, but, by 
the use of proper care, the trellis may be placed far enough from 
the wall to permit of painting without destroying the plant. 

There are endless varieties of flowers which may be used to 
add beauty and charm to the school lot. In many cases these 
can be obtained with but slight cost from the homes and gardens 
of the neighborhood. Others may be purchased at small ex- 
pense. Bulbs of crocuses, tulips and hyacinths, planted in the 
fall for spring blooming, are easily cared for and are very effec- 
tive. Many hardy bulbs once planted will continue to afford an 
abundance of flowers for several years. Lilies, peonies, irises 
and similar plants continue from year to year with little care. 
Many hardy perennials give like results. Constant care is nec- 
essary for the greatest measure of success, but little care is repaid 
by rewards well worth the having. When the soil has been 
properly prepared by digging, pulverizing and enriching, then 



37 

asters, petunias, poppies, phlox, verbenas and, for climbers, sweet 
peas, mottling glories, nasturtiums and many others may be 
planted and cared for with confident hope of success. 

I f seeds are purchased from responsible dealers the directions 
on the packages may be safely followed. It will generally be 
found more satisfactory to have many varieties and large num- 
bers of some special flowers as dahlias, tulips, lilies and gerani- 
ums, rather than to introduce a great number of different species 
or novelties. Twenty varieties of the dahlia would make a beau- 
tiful hedge or a large bed. The same might be said of tulips, 
lilies, hyacinths, petunias, verbenas, so far as their adding effec- 
tiveness to each other is concerned. Many varieties of sweet 
peas may be put together and each enhance the beauty of the 
other ; the same is true of nasturtiums and many other plants. 

The planting of wild flowers and ferns must not be forgotten. 
As our forests are felled and the land cleared, and cultivated, 
many of our wild flowers become rarer and will soon be extermi- 
nated unless care is taken to perpetuate them. The secret of 
success in such effort lies in closely studying the natural condi- 
tions and carefully reproducing them. Plants often respond to 
cultivation with increased size and beauty. The spring beauty, 
Dutchman's breeches, hepatica, anemone, bloodroot, partridge 
vine, violet, adder's tongue, columbine, swamp pink, aster, gold- 
enrod, ferns and other wild plants, if carefully transplanted, will 
be a source of great benefit and pleasure. They are often the 
most interesting where they are least known. 

LOCATION AND PREPARATION OF PLAYGROUNDS. 

Playgrounds are an absolute necessity. This necessity is felt 
more to-day than ever before and is destined to grow stronger 
each year. In all our cities and villages the day has passed when 
pupils may safely use the street as a playground. Play is as 
essential a part of the child's life and as useful to him as is study 
or any form of work. It would be difficult to find any part of 
the day that does as much for the mental, moral and physical 
welfare of the child as the time spent upon the playground. The 
additional strength given by exercise is only one part of the 
benefit received. The playground is a little world with its own 
problems and interest. On this arena tact, management, leader- 
ship, quickness of thought and action and many other qualities 



38 

come into use. Here also lessons are learned and acquaintances 
formed that will not soon be forgotten. The teachers should 
have a watchful care over these sports, by sharing in them, or by 
general oversight, as circumstances in each case may dictate. 

Playgrounds may be divided into two- classes — those for ordi- 
nary play and plays which the children may extemporize for the 
occasion and those arranged for sports under the general name 
of "athletics." For the first class there should be two or more 
plots, near the schoolhouse itself, to be used at recess and for 
short periods before or after school. They should be large 
enough to accommodate two or more different games at the 
same time. 

The place selected should be plowed, leveled, underdrained 
and, if necessary, overlaid with coarse, followed by finer gravel 
and well rolled. A slight slope will carry off the water and there 
should be no depressions where water may stand, or clayey places 
to become muddy. The fields designed for athletics may be 
farther away and, for their size and plotting, hand books of the 
several games should be consulted. The place these games shall 
occupy in school life, how they shall be regulated, whether 
match games shall be allowed between different schools, are 
among the most important questions of our present educational 
system. It may at least be said that all such games should be 
permitted only under proper supervision and regulation by the 
school authorities. They should be so conducted as to be un- 
tainted by any suspicion of professionalism or unfairness. This 
result may be more easily secured on grounds that are under 
school control and for this and other obvious reasons it is desir- 
able that the school lot be large enough to include such grounds. 

LOCATION AND USE OF SCHOOL GARDENS. 

The area chosen for the school garden must, of necessity, vary 
with the size and shape of the lot. If the width of the lot is suf- 
ficient to permit, the flower beds may be placed near the front on 
the outer side of the drives which enter and leave the grounds on 
each side of the front lawn. They may extend back as far as 
the playground which may reach across the lot in the rear of the 
building, being divided from the other spaces by a hedge or 
screen as before stated. In the rear of the playgrounds may be 
placed the vegetable garden and, back of that, the wild flowers, 



39 

ending with ferns, shrubberv and trees. The order on each side 
of the lot from the street to the rear would then be, beds of 
flowers, playground, vegetable garden, wild flowers, ferns, 
shrubbery and trees. Somewhere among these shrubs and trees 
may be damp places where the mossy soil would be fitted for 
some of our more delicate flowers like the calypas and the cypri- 
pcdiums. From side to side across the front, back of its line of 
elms, the order would be, trees and shrubbery, flower beds, drive, 
low shrubs, walk, lawn, walk, low shrubs, drive, flower beds, 
shrubbery and trees. 

In city and country alike, the school garden has possibilities 
of great usefulness. The knowledge of plants gained in it may 
( asily lead to the study of plants in other gardens, fields, woods, 
or river banks, and many a subject for story, description, or 
essay may thus be gathered. The best language lesson is one in 
which the pupil has something definite to say and is taught to 
say it correctly. It is hard enough for older people to evolve out 
of their inner consciousness ideas for expression and it is little 
short of cruelty to expect these results of children. The work of 
the school garden, a walk in the neighborhood, an informal talk 
about topics of common interest arising in connection therewith, 
may be followed by a written exercise that will be full of life and 
interest. Given something to say, the pupil will find some way 
to say it. 

The writings of Bradford Torrey, John Burroughs and many 
others will show how close may be the connection between clear- 
ness of observation and beauty of style. If children have at 
hand materials for observation, they can be the more readily 
taught how to put this material into correct language. 

An observing teacher will find on the school grounds many 
objects to be made use of in his school work. In one school in 
our State, having groups of trees upon its grounds, a teacher had 
just described to his pupils the habits of the butcher bird in kill- 
ing small birds and impaling them upon thorns when, looking 
from the window, he saw the tragedy enacted under his eyes at 
the very moment and was able at once to direct the attention of 
the class to the practical illustration of his teaching. Another 
teacher recalls with interest, after the lapse of more than twenty- 
five years, an essay written by a young man in which he gave a 
definite account of wdiat he had learned bv careful observation of 



40 

the habits of the chickadees in the trees near his home. What 
one sees clearly he can express the more vividly. 

Excellent material for lessons in drawing- with pencil or in 
colors may be found in the plants and flowers of the school gar- 
den. A branch from a wild rose bush, with buds and flowers 
and leaves, will form a much more attractive subject for draw- 
ing and color work than any object which lacks the charm of 
living reality. The advantages to be gained from lessons in 
practical gardening should also not be overlooked. Planting 
seeds in boxes and watching the various stages in plant develop- 
ment, now almost universally employed in our best schools in 
lessons on plants, may profitably be extended to out-of-door 
work. Such subjects as the best preparation of the soil for 
different seeds, the care of the young plants, the transplanting 
of seedlings, the space required for each, how to protect them 
from insects or other dangers, the cultivation needed at different 
stages of growth, hoeing, weeding, how to gather the results in 
the fall and the best methods of storing them for the winter can 
best be taught in the way indicated above. From all these exer- 
cises there will come a practical education and manual training 
that will be of great value, to say nothing of the reward in 
health and pleasure. 

If hotbeds and a greenhouse are added, then instruction may 
cover a larger portion of the year and be enhanced in value. 
The closer relations between teacher and pupil and between the 
school and community, resulting from such a course, would be of 
value not easily estimated. Imagine the pleasure with which a 
farmer or practical gardener would watch the growing interest 
in real things manifested by the children. Only good would 
come if drafts were made upon the experience of such persons 
for assistance in this work. The exercises of Memorial Day 
might be rendered more impressive by gifts of flowers from the 
school gardens and, if the sick room of a pupil or a friend of the 
school was cheered by the same kindly remembrance, the act 
would bring a double blessing. 

The relation of the trees and shrubs of the school yard to the 
birds is an interesting subject of study. Trees will attract the 
birds and, if they are welcomed and protected, their presence will 
be a constant pleasure. Unfortunately the English sparrows 
have usurped the places of our native birds to some extent in our 



41 

village and city streets. The protection of birds secured by- 
recent legislation and by the renewed interest in the study of 
them, has already borne good fruit. That thirty-five different 
species were seen in one morning before school within half a 
mile of one of our high schools is an illustration of what we 
may expect where birds are kindly treated. 

The new science of forestry is vital to the interests of our 
country. It is seeking to solve some of the most important 
economic problems and some of its elementary principles may 
be illustrated by the trees upon the school grounds. The trees 
will also speak to teachers and pupils in a many-voiced and most 
interesting language. The rustling of the leaves, the sighing of 
the wind through the branches, the hush that precedes the storm, 
or the roar that accompanies it, each has its music and charm. 

If the school grounds are to be made "vacation centers," 
according to recent methods, then there is all the more reason 
for making them beautiful. The value of the refining, elevating 
influence of the beautiful is beyond estimate. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE EXTERIOR OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 

That the school buildings should be kept well painted might 
go without saying, were it not that the rule is disregarded in too 
many instances. If the house is tasteful in design, painting may 
be the only thing needed. A house should certainly be painted 
when necessary, since paint nearly or quite pays for itself in the 
protection it gives to the woodwork. Indeed it is almost an 
axiom that paint costs nothing. The improvement in appear- 
ance is therefore a matter of slight expense. The school house 
should compare favorably in attractiveness with the better class 
of dwelling houses in its vicinity. 

In some cases additions, adding greatly to the appearance of 
the buildings, may be made at small cost. A cupola containing a 
bell would pay for itself in the time gained by increased punc- 
tuality of attendance ; so that in this case also, the improvement 
in appearance would be so much gained. There are so many 
kinds of time in some communities that the ringing of the bell at 
regular periods would be of great service to the neighborhood 
as well as helpful in carrying out the school program. 

The question of properly lighting the rooms is an important 
one in any school. Two or three windows may be grouped 



42 

together, new windows may be inserted where needed, a change 
may be made in the paneling, or small panes may be replaced 
by larger ones. 

The roof may need shingling and the shingling may be ex- 
tended half way down the sides with good effect ; the entire 
shingling to be stained some tint harmonizing with the color of 
the clapboards below. The projection of the roof at the gables 
or the eaves may be extended to produce the best effect. 
Dormer windows may be inserted in the roof to light a hall for 
storage or other purposes. A neat vane, with indicators for the 
four cardinal points of the compass, may be added to the cupola. 
The entire building may need to be raised and a new foundation 
placed under it. A few vines and climbing plants may be used 
to soften the stiffness of the exterior and groups of low shrubs 
planned to break the hard lines between the wall and the ground. 

It would be money wasted to attempt to repair a building 
hopelessly antiquated and too small for its purpose and in such 
case a new building is the only remedy. This necessity will 
give opportunity for change of location, if that be best, so that 
the new house may be built on more suitable grounds and each 
add beauty to the other. One mistake, often made, should be 
guarded against. Do not build a two-room building of two 
stories, unless the rooms are much larger than usual; but build 
a one-story house with the foundation wall showing at least 
three feet above ground. Two rooms on one floor, with halls 
and cloak rooms between, are much better than a building with 
one room above the other. The two outer doors may be under 
one portico, if desired, and a covered driveway might well be 
added for use in stormy weather. 

DECORATING THE WALLS AND CEILING OE THE SCHOOLROOM. 

The wainscoting of the walls should extend from the floor to 
the lower part of the windows and of the blackboards and this 
wainscoting and the finish of the doors and windows and the 
doors themselves should be of yellow birch, oak, hard pine, q<r 
spruce, and filled with oil and covered with at least two coats of 
varnish well rubbed down. The floors should be of yellow birch 
or selected spruce and should be well oiled and then given two 
coats of shellac. The wall spaces should be plastered and tinted 
some light, soft color such as a cream, light gray, bluish gray, 
greenish yellow or buff. The ceiling should be still lighter than 



43 

the walls and, for this surface, a delicate cream is recommended. 
The blackboards should be of slate, or the best quality of 
adamantine plaster, treated with the best liquid slating. Their 
base line should begin two or two and a half feet above the floor 
and they should extend three and a half feet above this line. At 
the lower edge of the board should be placed a suitable molding 
with an upper concave surface to hold the erasers and to collect 
the chalk dust. A neat molding of gilt or of the same finish as 
the woodwork of the room, for hanging pictures, should run 
entirely around the room except over the windows. The black- 
boards should extend around the room except in the spaces 
occupied by the doors and windows. 

The windows should be massed on the left side of the room, 
as the pupils are seated, beginning about one foot from the rear 
wall and extending so that the front window shall be opposite 
the front seat. The bottom of the windows should be on a level 
with the eye of the average pupil when seated in the room and 
the top should reach within a few inches of the ceiling. Opaque 
shades of Naples yellow should in every case prevent the direct 
sunlight from falling on the books of the pupils. In our climate 
it is better to provide double windows. 

furniture; and means of providing it. 

The best furniture devised by modern invention should be 
provided wdien possible. The best is none too good, considering 
the interests at stake. 

The seats should in every case be so low that the feet of the 
child may easily and naturally rest upon the floor. Very satis- 
factory seats and desks are now made that can be adjusted with 
slight difficulty and these should be carefully considered in fur- 
nishing a new room. The single desk and seat should be pro- 
vided for each pupil. A seat would better be too low than too 
high. In a school of a single grade the pupils will usually 
remain in their seats during recitation ; but in a mixed or 
ungraded school, settees or other seats for the class reciting will 
generally be used instead. These recitation seats should also 
vary in height with the size of the pupils who are to occupy 
them ; but the lack of adjustment can more readily be borne than 
in the regular seats for study, as they are occupied for briefer 
periods. 



44 

A comfortable chair should be furnished for the teacher, and 
two or three common chairs for visitors. The earlier custom of 
sending to the neighbors to borrow chairs for the "committee" 
or others may well become obsolete. The teacher's platform 
should be nine inches high, at least five feet wide and nine feet 
long. A modern desk with lid and drawers with locks should 
be furnished for the teacher's use. 

In one corner of the room should be placed a small table or 
plant stand on which should be two or three pots of growing 
plants and some place should be found for two or three vases 
of cut flowers, especially of the wild flowers in their season. 
Whatever brightens the schoolroom and adds to its attractive- 
ness is of service. We tire of seeing the same things day after 
day. Like the trifling features of dress, — a bow, a ribbon, a tie, 
a pin, — the flowers and other ornaments have their value 
enhanced by frequent renewals. 

A neat library case is needed for reference books. Even if 
there is a library room in the same building it will not meet the 
want here indicated ; the books needed must be at hand. 

A pointer with rubber tip should hang by the side of every 
blackboard and sufficient erasers should be supplied so that 
there may be no borrowing. For slate blackboards a pencil of 
soft talc may be used with little injury to the surface, but for 
other boards, crayons as nearly dustless as possible should be 
provided. 

How to obtain these necessary articles is an interesting ques- 
tion. The simplest answer is, pay for them from the contingent 
fund as other school bills are met. But here comes in the principle 
that people are interested in matters in which they have a share 
and the school in which the people are sufficiently interested to 
supply these simple needs is favored to an extent far beyond 
what the money value of the things given would indicate. The 
stronger the bond between the school and the citizens the better 
for both and even better still if the School Improvement League, 
the Grange or the Civic League has a part in this work. A 
picnic held in one town for the purpose of raising money to pur- 
chase a bell for a new school building is an excellent illustration 
of what the people may do when they are interested in the school. 



45 



A WORKROOM. 

In every rural schoolhouse there should be a room about 9 
feet wide and 12 feet long, in which should be placed a small 
workbench and a few of the common tools used by carpenters. 
There should also be a limited supply of lumber suitable for 
making the implements, utensils and apparatus needed in the 
home, on the farm and in the school. 

The room should also be provided with a small cook stove, a 
few of the utensils used in the ordinary kitchen, a sewing table 
and such other apparatus as are needed in making the plainer 
articles of wearing apparel. 

This room should be furnished by the people of the com- 
munity in which the school is located. 

The teacher should encourage the children to make use of this 
workroom in constructing the material needed in the school and 
the home and in preparing simple articles of food and in making 
some of the garments worn by the school children. 

It will be much better if the teacher does not attempt to be 
severely scientific or technical. Most of the teachers do not and 
many of them cannot act as expert instructors in this work, but 
they may give general directions and, to an extent, oversee what 
is done. There will always be members of the school who will 
have an aptitude for the things in which the teacher has no 
special skill. 

Let it be distinctly understood from the start, that the teacher 
is not an instructor in manual training and does not pretend to 
be ; but that she and the children, working together, can pro- 
vide many necessary articles. 

Many blunders will be made and much material will be wasted, 
but neither of these items should be discouraging. Perhaps 
there is no better w r av of learning how to do a thing than by the 
mistakes one makes in doing it. The knowledge and skill thus 
acquired develop taste, judgment, ability to meet emergencies 
and at the same time stimulate originality and invention. Best 
of all, these activities furnish an opportunity for the children to 
train their hands while they are using their heads. They also 
develop self-reliance, independence and love of manual labor and 
a desire to be physically useful in the world. 

A room provided with the material described above and used 
by intelligent teachers and ambitious pupils will help to give us 



4 6 

a student body that will be industrious, enterprising, skillful, self- 
supporting. It will help solve not a few industrial problems and 
will furnish a satisfactory answer to many troublesome moral 
and intellectual questions. It will help to keep the boys and girls 
in school and aid them in becoming intelligent and worthy citi- 
zens when they leave school. 

There is a great opportunity for usefulness in this work and it 
is sincerely hoped that parents, school officials and teachers will 
appreciate the situation and make use of the advantages which 
such training will surely give. 

See figure A for plan of schoolhouse that provides a room for 
the purposes outlined above. 

BOOKS AND THE MEANS OF OBTAINING THEM. 

The text-books used in school should be furnished by the 
town, without cost to the pupil. Reference books, such as dic- 
tionaries and encyclopedias and others treating of the subjects 
taught in the school, should be supplied from private or 
school funds. If there is a free public library that takes into its 
plan the needs of the school, there will be less call for going 
beyond the text-books and a few reference books for immediate 
use. Still it is very desirable, especially in the more advanced 
grades, to have at least a few well chosen books on different 
branches connected with the school work. Such needs will be 
especially felt in geography, where books of travel and descrip- 
tion are of great service and in history, where several writers 
describe the events of the same period. In botany, "How to 
Know the Wild Flowers," "How to Know the Ferns" ; in orni- 
thology, the writings of John Burroughs, Bradford Torrey and 
Chapman's Manual of Bird Life ; in literature, a select library of 
standard authors ; in poetry, Tennyson, Browning, Shakespeare. 
and our own Longfellow, Whittier and Holmes will be found 
to be very useful. Promiscuous reading during a school course 
is of doubtful service, but to become acquainted with a few of 
the best books will be of greatest benefit. 

Aside from the text-books to be purchased from the fund 
raised for that purpose, other books may usually be best secured 
by the assistance of the parents and friends of the school. In 
some cases it may be well to hold social gatherings or entertain- 
ments for securing additions to the library, but in many instances 



47 

a simple statement of the case by authorized solicitors will be 
most effective. 

PICTURES AND THE MEANS OF SECURING THEM. 

The walls of the schoolroom should be adorned with the 
portraits of persons whose lives may be studied with profit by 
the children. If possible some one favorably known in the com- 
munity should be thus honored. Outside of local interests the 
list is large. Some of the pictures of Lincoln are excellent as 
aie also those of Washington, Webster, Clay, Tennyson, Long- 
fellow, Whittier and Shakespeare. The Angelus, the First 
Prayer in Congress, the Boy Christ in the Temple are appro- 
priate for schoolrooms. The pictures need not all be purchased 
at one time. The collection should be a growth, rather than one 
made up from lists compiled at random. The friends of the 
distinguished graduate, or patron of the school, should count it 
a privilege to contribute his picture. The list should be so select 
that it would be an honor to be in it. Casts, busts and statues 
should be included in these collections. 



UTILIZATION OE THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE. 

The League furnishes a simple and practical organization for 
improving school grounds and buildings and for procuring 
and exchanging suitable reading matter and works of art. No 
machine runs itself ; or if it attempts it, like a runaway auto- 
mobile, it hastens its own ruin. The League will do great ser- 
vice if it unites the friends of our public schools, pupils, teachers, 
school officers and other citizens, in an effort to secure school 
improvement along the lines suggested. By its plan of library 
and art exchange, if it could be generally adopted, it would give 
to every school the opportunity of enjoying the use of many 
books and works of art, which it could not hope to have by its 
own efforts 

The School Improvement League of Maine differs from all 
other similar organizations in the following particulars : 

i. Its specific objects include the entire circle of school 
interests as it provides for the social, civic and literary training 
of the children. 

2. It does its work directlv in everv local school. 



4 8 

3- It makes the pupil, the parent and the teacher equal 
partners in the work of bringing the school into its best estate. 

4. It holds each community responsible for the improvement 
of its own school. 

5. It combines literary work with its efforts for material 
betterment. 

GO slowly. 
Every great reform depends on time and patience for its suc- 
cess. It takes time for the inertia of ages to be transformed into 
the momentum of action. The interests at stake in school 
improvement are so weighty that the successful attainment of 
them will amply repay the efforts made as well as the patience 
exercised in waiting for them. The successes already gained 
justify and encourage still greater exertion. It is the first step 
that costs. Great progress has already been made. No one 
would be willing to go back to the earlier conditions common in 
oar schools. In a few years, when broader and more liberal 
ideas have prevailed, the people, now so slow to move, will look 
back to some of our present appliances and conditions with as 
much surprise as we look back upon the past. Meanwhile with 
all due patience we must "learn to labor and to wait." 

HAVE A WELL DEFINED PLAN. 

A clear cut idea of the end desired and of the next step toward 
its attainment is necessary to the success of any undertaking. 
Anything worth the doing must be first wrought out in thought 
before it can be reduced to reality. It may not be best in every 
case to proclaim at the start how much you hope to accomplish ; 
but by having a definite idea in your own mind of what the 
school and its surroundings should be, you can make every step 
taken count towards the end desired. 

In the laying out of grounds, for example, there should be a 
general scheme with reference to which every tree or plant 
should be placed. Indiscriminate planting, too great crowding, 
putting plants together that are out of harmony with one another 
or with their surroundings, placing plants in conditions that 
prevent their proper growth, will defeat the end sought. Care- 
ful forethought is also necessary in the purchase of pictures, 
casts or books. The money in hand must be spent according 



49 

to some general plan and with due reference to what has already 
been done and with a clear knowledge of what you propose to do, 
Costly mistakes may easily be made at this point. The essential 
things should be done first and those that are simply desirable 
should wait. It is better to wait even for the essential things 
than to procure substitutes at nearly the same cost. Endeavor 
to get the best material procurable for the purpose desired. It 
is good economy to buy one good picture, book, or other article, 
rather than two or a dozen inferior ones. A thing that ought to 
be beautiful but is not, is a perpetual disappointment. The best 
is cheapest in the end : in the beginning, too, for that matter. 
The best people of the community, the ones you wish most to 
enlist in your work, will be more ready to help you if they find 
you are really determined to do something that is worth the 
while. 

leave; a record for the next teacher. 
In the ideal school the same teacher continues year after year, 
growing into and with her work, always bringing the school 
towards its best estate. But such permanency is unhappily rare. 
Under our present system a teacher has hardly time to get her 
work well in hand before a call to another position, or some 
change of school authorities, removes her from her present task 
and puts another in her place. The new teacher comes to the 
school sufficiently handicapped at the best. There is necessarily 
a break in the work and a tentative feeling on both sides that 
interferes with satisfactory results for a time. Out of this may 
come changes that will benefit both teacher and school, but there 
is always a risk. A record of what has been done and what is 
planned will help to make the break, serious at the best, less 
harmful. Such assistance should be given. 

REPORT WORK DONE TO THE STATE PRESIDENT AND STATE 
SECRETARY OE THE LEAGUES. 

Organized effort makes it possible for the good work that is 
done in one city or town to be known in others and the influence 
of the example to be more widely felt. No town should com- 
mence the work of school improvement and then keep so still 
about it that no other town may profit thereby. The teacher 
should give to the public the story of what the friends of the 



50 

school have done for its better furnishing even if they have acted 
on her suggestion. Assuming that the school is allied to "The 
School Improvement League of Maine," it is a matter of duty 
to the organization to make a full and accurate report to its 
officers. By so doing the school touches elbows with other 
schools and thus gains courage for the struggle which makes bad 
conditions good and good ones better. The strength of union 
should do service for a good cause. 

KEEP permanent record of improvements made and pub- 
lish EXTRACTS FROM THE SAME IN LOCAL PAPERS. 

The same considerations apply even more emphatically to the 
keeping of permanent records, in a suitable book, not on loose 
sheets of paper, and to publishing the salient items in the local 
papers. Such records have immediate value and as time passes 
will be of increasing importance as historical material. The 
history of education is one of the central figures in the progress 
of any people. Remarkable changes have taken place in educa- 
tional means and methods within the memory of persons now 
living. The influences of these changes upon the character and 
standing of the Nation would be difficult to estimate, still more 
to overestimate. As landmarks of progress, it is important that 
the items of a school history should be preserved. The history 
of the past has been largely a record of wars and bloodshed ; the 
history of the future is to be a chronicle of the more beneficent 
conquests of peace. When nation shall vie with nation in 
extending truth, righteousness, education, progress, then we may 
know that the millenium of universal peace is near at hand. 

Local educational movements should seek the aid of the news- 
papers. The local paper may be as important in its sphere as 
the metropolitan paper in its wider territory. No cause that 
seeks public favor can afford to disregard the power of the press. 
It is important that school matters be treated by it in the right 
spirit. The secretary's record may serve for the members of a 
society, but the local papers should bring the chief points to 
public notice. The knowledge of good work done by some 
quiet toiler will often bring assistance from unexpected sources. 
What interests can be more vital to the people than those con- 
nected with our public schools? As these schools lie at the very 
foundations of our free government the utmost care should be 



5i 

taken to keep their influence pure and strong. Records and 
reports of progress made will inspire efforts for still further 
advancement and if, at any time, emergencies should arise 
demanding special help it is still more important that the facts 
be promptly made public in order that immediate action may be 
taken. 

It may be an appeal to selfish motives, but if proper credit is 
given through the press for work done or assistance rendered, 
it may stimulate still further efforts in the same direction. It is 
only natural that people should like to have their assistance 
appreciated. The acknowledgment of benefactions received or 
the report of work done for the school, made in the right way, 
in the spirit of true gratitude, will be welcomed as a fitting act 
of courtesy and may easily lead to further assistance from the 
same parties or from others. Such reports may have an influ- 
ence broader than the mere localtiy. Copied from paper to 
paper as items of news, they go forth like good seed and may 
bring forth good fruit in unexpected places. 

The primal instinct of service lies dormant in many a soul, 
waiting for the touch of encouragement and opportunity to call 
it into action. 



SCHOOL YARDS AND BUILDINGS. 



In one of the reports of this department a somewhat detailed 
statement was made of the condition of the school yards, out- 
houses and school-buildings in the rural sections of the State. 
Many inquiries have been received which indicate that a 
general interest has been aroused in these matters. To assist 
in improving the schools in these particulars the following 
plans, sketches and explanations have been prepared. In 
doing this work the fact has been constantly kept in mind that 
the suggestions furnished should be especially serviceable to 
towns having but small sums to invest at any one time. 

In presenting these suggestions and explanations as to the 
selection of lots, construction of outhouses and school-build- 
ings no attempt will be made to present arguments in favor 
of the positions taken, or to quote authorities upon these sub- 
jects. 

The statements made and the recommendations offered in this 
connection are addressed more particularly to rural and village 
communities. • Any attempt to furnish detailed plans for build- 
ings in cities, without exact information as to the size, location 
and surroundings of the lot, the system of sewerage, water 
supply, heating, etc., to be used, would result in a failure. For 
these reasons no attempt will be made to cover this field. 

SCHOOL SITS. 

In selecting a site for a school-building the principal items 
to be considered are size, soil, drainage, sightliness, and loca- 
tion in the community using the schoolhouse. The lot should 
have an area of not less than one acre, with a frontage of about 
1 80 feet and a depth of about 240 feet. It should not have 
beneath it a stratum of clay or ledge which will permit of 



53 

ground-water standing- in the yard, but should have a light, 
porous, dry soil. It should be free from all decaying matter 
and all animal excrement. 

The surface of the lot should slope gently toward the road 
or street, and have a sufficient elevation so that all parts of it 
will drain naturally. If for any reason this result is not possible 
through natural means, artificial drainage should be supplied 
which will remove all surface and ground-water. The best lot 
is the one which is highest in the center and slopes gradually in 
all directions, and is higher than the immediate surrounding 
areas. 

The lot selected should have as many natural features of 
beauty as possible, and should be as sightly as circumstances 
will permit. It should not be in a low, damp place, and it is bet- 
ter that it should not be on the top of a bleak hill. A slightly 
rolling area in a reasonably sheltered section is the most desir- 
able. The building should be so located as to give a sunny 
playground, and yet prevent, as far as possible, the direct rays 
of the sun from falling upon the desks during school hours. 

Great care should be taken in selecting a lot for a school- 
building either in the country or in a village, to have it so 
located that the school will be as little disturbed as possible by 
passing travel and by industries that are carried on in the com- 
munity. Reasonably quiet surroundings are essential conditions 
for the best work in the classroom. The disadvantages of dust 
and other annoying conditions are too apparent to need special 
mention. A community cannot afford to sacrifice quality of 
soil, sightliness, elevation, drainage and quiet to the single item 
of central location. 

The school-building should be placed about ioo feet from the 
street or road and as near the center of the lot from right to 
left as the conformation of the ground will permit. In most 
school yards in the country the outhouses for the girls should 
be in one of the rear corners of the lot, and that for the boys 
in the opposite rear corner. 

The fence at the rear of the lot and the sides as far front as 
the rear of the school-building should be a close board fence 
about 5 feet high. The fences for the sides, from a point oppo- 
site the rear of the building to the street or road, should be about 
4 feet high and of such construction as the means of the town 



54 

wjll justify. There should be a strong, close board fence, 7 feet 
high, extending from the center of the rear of the building to 
the center of the rear board fence. 

No trees should be placed within 50 feet of the building. The 
area immediately in front of the schoolhouse should be used for 
flower beds. The open spaces at the sides and rear should be 
used for playgrounds. A few trees should be planted near the 
boundary lines of the lot and in some instances trees may be 
advantageously planted in interior sections of the lot. 

WATER supply. 
Every school-building should be supplied with pure water. 
The best way of doing this is to have water conducted through 
pipes to the building from a spring that is some distance from 
any polluting agencies. Where this plan is not feasible the next 
best method is to have a bored well of such depth as will render 
it impossible for the water to be contaminated with surface water 
or filterings through the soil. Where a bored well is not prac- 
ticable then a well should be dug, and every possible precaution 
used to prevent contaminating matter of any kind from reaching 
the well itself, or the sources of its supply. 

OUTHOUSES. 
The outhouses should be located, as has already been indi- 
cated, in the rear corners of the school lot, one being assigned 
to the girls, and the other to the boys. These buildings 
should be substantially built, of such size and with such con- 
veniences as will best serve the school for which they are 
constructed. The vault should be a solid tank of masonry, 
plastered on the inside with cement. (See Figure A in another 
section of this report.) If for any reason this kind of a vault 
cannot be supplied a wooden box, extending the entire length 
of the sittings, and about 20 inches deep and 24 inches wide 
should be furnished. In cases where a box is used it should 
be lined with galvanized iron and great care should be taken 
to have the lining water tight. In both cases such an amount 
of dry soil or ashes should be frequently placed in the receptacle 
as will absorb all liquids in the vault and keep the excreta 
covered. 






55 

In outhouses provided with wooden boxes for vaults the 
lower, rear portion of the building should be a heavy double 
door with hinges at the top, so arranged that it can be turned 
up against the wall and held in place by a clasp while the box- 
vault is being emptied. These vaults should be thoroughly 
cleaned, at least, twice each term. When these precautions are 
taken we shall be free from the fearful odors which sometimes 
are manifest not only on all parts of the school grounds but 
which penetrate even to the schoolroom itself. 

If those who have charge of the erection of school-buildings 
have any reason to fear that sufficient dry earth or ashes will 
not be applied to the contents of the vaults to absorb all liquids 
and keep all excreta thoroughly covered, and that all this 
accumulation will not be removed at least twice each term, then 
they would better use the plans described below. These 
explanations and sketches are taken from the Report of the 
State Board of Health of Maine for 1892-3. (See Figures B 
and C.) 

"There are some patented devices for using the dry earth, 
but without patronizing these, any carpenter or otfier person with 
only ordinary mechanical ingenuity can get up something which 
will give good results. All that is needed is a common closet, 
a supply of dry earth, a water-tight receptacle beneath, and a 
convenient way of disposing of its contents at quite frequent 
intervals. 

"The .receptacle should be wholly above the surface of the 
ground and may consist of a metallic-lined box, a half of a 
kerosene barrel with handles upon it for removal, or, which 
is better, a large galvanized iron pail. 

''The receptacle may be removed through a door in the back 
of the closet or in front of the seat, or," by having- the seat 
hinged and made to button backward, it may be removed that 
way. The earth should be common garden or field loam, if 
considerably clayey all the better, but it must be finely pul- 
verized. Road dust does well, but sand is not suitable. Coal 
ashes are also good. Whichever of these is used should be 
dry and screened through a • sieve with about quarter-inch 
meshes. The dry earth may be kept in a box or bin so 
arranged, where it can be, that it may be filled from the out- 
side of the closet, or it is quite convenient to have one-half 



56 

the seat hinged and beneath it the small compartment to hold 
the present supply of the earth. In this box or bin holding 
the earth there may be a small tin scoop which may be employed 
in sprinkling in the earth, a pint or more, each time the closet 
is used. The main thing is to use enough of the earth com- 
pletely to absorb all liquids, and this requirement, of course, 
precludes the throwing of slops into the closet. One or two 
loads of dry earth will be needed annually for a small school. 
Figure B in another part of the report shows the construction 
of this closet. 

"Figure C shows a style of earth closet suitable for country 
school-buildings. It has a permanent catch-basin entirely above 
the surface of the ground built of brick laid in cement and lined 
with asphalt so that the water or moisture from the soil can 
have no entrance. 

"Within the closet is a bin for dry earth or coal ashes and a 
scoop by means of which it should be somebody's duty to sift 
daily or oftener a small quantity of the drying material over 
the deposit, — enough to keep the whole dry and odorless. At 
the rear of the* vault is a door through which the inoffensive 
contents may be removed." 

The outhouses should also be provided with windows the 
stools of which should be not less than 5 feet from the ground. 
The doors should be substantially constructed and provided with 
strong locks. The keys should be in the custody of the teacher, 
and the doors locked each night. This duty may be performed 
by some of the older and more reliable boys. The buildings 
should also be surrounded with evergreens in such a way as 
to conceal them from the road and the occupants of the school- 
house. The entrances should be from the sides facing the fence 
extending from the rear of the school-building to the rear of 
the lot. 

In cases where towns wish to build fire closets, or water 
closets and urinals supplied with running water, they should 
depend on experts to supply detailed directions for constructing 
these important adjuncts to every schoolhouse. 

SCHOOL-BUILDING. 

The foundation walls of the school-building should be of 
solid masonry, and extend to such a depth as to prevent their 



57 

being- affected by frost. The walls should be I foot thick and 
have a vertical air space of 4 inches, and be so thoroughly built 
as to exclude the cold to a considerable extent. There should 
be a suitable opening in the wall on each of the four sides to 
permit thorough ventilation of the space beneath the building 
during the spring, summer and fall months. Double shutters 
should be provided for these openings during the winter months. 
These conditions should obtain in all cases where it is not found 
expedient to have a basement, but wherever the funds are suffi- 
cient, a basement of not less than 8 feet in depth should be 
provided. This should be inclosed by the foundation walls, and 
the bottom should be covered with gravel and plastered with the 
best cement, and such drainage should be provided as will pre- 
vent water remaining in the basement. 

The top of the foundation wall should be, at least, 3 feet 6 
inches above the level of the ground. In no case should school- 
buildings exceed two stories in height. The reasons for this 
limitation have been given in so many reports that it is unneces- 
sary to recapitulate them. 

The exterior of the building should be simple in construction, 
yet dignified in its adornment, and devoid of all ornamentation 
which interferes with suitable lighting of the assembly room. 

COLORS FOR EXTERIORS. 

While it is not desirable that school-buildings should pre- 
sent a marked similarity in coloring, yet it is important that 
such colors should be used on the exterior as will render the 
houses not only durable but also attractive. For this purpose 
the colonial style of light yellow with white trimmings furnishes 
a happy combination, and is a change from the more sombre 
browns that are now so common. The gray tints with darker 
trimmings and the light yellow with dark green trimmings are 
both serviceable and attractive. In some cases plain white walls 
with green blinds make a picture at once artistic and inex- 
pensive. 

HALLS AND WARDROBES. 

The entrance to the house should be protected by a suit- 
able portico of such construction as will permit the children 
to make use of it for shelter in stormv weather and serve as 



53 

a protection from the sun on hot days. The entrance and 
halls should be of sufficient size to allow the free passage of 
the pupils to and from the schoolroom, and to insure perfect 
ventilation. 

In single-room school-buildings, if separate entries are pro- 
vided for the boys and girls, these apartments should be at least 
8 feet square. In schoolhouses of more than one room they 
must necessarily be more spacious. The hallways in all school- 
buildings, of more than one room, should be wide enough to 
admit of the passing of double columns of children in opposite 
directions at the same time with perfect freedom. In single- 
room buildings the hallways need not be more than 6 feet wide 
while in school-buildings of more than one room they should be 
not less than 8 feet. 

Wardrobes should be large enough to furnish each child with 
a separate hook so located that his clothing, when in place, will 
not come in close contact with that of any other child. A ward- 
robe for 25 pupils should have wall space equivalent to 25 feet 
in length. These rooms need ventilation to even a greater 
extent than do the schoolrooms. 

Entries, wardrobes and halls should be located in such rela- 
tions to the schoolroom that the teacher can stand at some qne 
point and have a general oversight over them all ; because there 
are times during school hours when some of the children are in 
the entries, some in the hall leading to the schoolroom, and 
some in the wardrobe, while others are in the assembly room. 

STAIRS. 

The stairs should be, at least, 5 feet wide, and in case of two 
or more schools in the same building they should" be from 6 to 7 
feet wide. The risers should be from 6 to 7 inches high, and 
the threads about 12 inches wide. Circular stairs should never 
be built in a school-building, and as few turns should be made in 
the stairs as possible. What is true of the anterooms is also true 
of the stairways. They should be so arranged that a teacher 
may stand at one point and command easily the staircase, the 
halls and entrances. A great amount of confusion and unneces- 
sary friction would be prevented by observing these simple rules. 



59 



SIZE OF ROOMS. 

Schoolrooms should be from 2-$ to 3-4 as wide as they are 
long. The length should not exceed 30 feet, a few feet less 
being preferable. The height of the schoolroom should be 
more than 11 feet and less than 14 feet. The floor space must 
be of such size as will give to each child not less than 20 square 
feet. If the schoolroom is 30 feet long, 20 feet wide and 12 
feet high, it will contain 7,200 cubic feet of air-space. If 
there are thirty pupils in attendance the room will provide 240 
cubic feet of air-space for each child. This is the minimum 
limit. No schoolroom should furnish a smaller air-space for 
its pupils. 

The teacher's platform should be at the side of the room 
which is not provided with windows, and not less than 5 feet 
wide and about 0. feet long. It should be about 9 inches high. 

windows. , 

All things considered it is best to have the school-buildings 
face the south or west. If this plan is adopted the windows 
will be located on the east and north, or west and north sides of 
the schoolroom. The windows should be supplied with opaque, 
Naples yellow shades. When the sun is in the east the curtains 
on the east side of the room should be drawn. The same is true 
of the west side in the afternoon. With these precautions 
against the direct rays of the sun all parts of the room may be 
thoroughly lighted, and at the same time cross lights which 
otherwise might be of great injury to the eyes of the children 
would be avoided. 

The windows should be in the wall at the left of the pupils 
when the}- are seated at their desks. The rear window in this 
wall should be within one foot of the rear wall, and the front 
window should be opposite the front row of seats. 

The area of the glass in a schoolroom should be equal to one- 
fifth the area of the floor-space; i. e., if the room is 28 feet long 
and 22 feet wide, the floor would contain 616 square feet, and 
there should be at least 124 square feet of glass. 

If the side wall does not furnish a space large enough to give 
an area equal to one-fifth of the floor space, then windows 
should be placed in the rear wall. These windows should be 



6o 

located at the right and left of a center mullion, and should be 
of the same vertical height as those in the side wall. 

The bottom of the windows should be on a level with the 
eyes of the majority of the children occupying the room. They 
should extend to within about 6 inches of the ceiling. The 
windows at the sides should be massed with narrow mullions 
between the different divisions. There should not be any win- 
dows in front of the front row of seats (not desks) in any 
schoolroom. It is better to have the glass the full size of the 
sash in all windows. If these simple rules are followed our 
children will suffer much less in the future than they have in 
the past from improper lighting of schoolrooms. 

All window sashes should be so constructed as to fit closely 
in their casings, and at the same time run easily. They should 
be supplied with pulleys, friction rollers and. such weights as 
will permit them to be moved with ease by a small child. As a 
matter of economy it is best to have all school-buildings supplied 
with double windows. The saving in fuel will be sufficient, in 
a reasonable length of time, to pay the added expense. If 
double windows are furnished, many of the discomforts arising 
from draughts will be prevented, and the windows can be used 
in such a way as to supplement the regular system of ventilation. 



BLACKBOARDS. 

The blackboards should be, at least, 3 feet 6 inches wide, and 
extend entirely around the 100m, except in the spaces occupied 
by the doors and windows. In schoolrooms used exclusively 
for primary grades the lower edge of the board should be about 
2 feet from the floor, and in grammar and high school grades 
the bottom of the board should be about 3 feet from the floor. 
School-buildings in rural communities should have the bottom 
of their blackboards about 2 feet 6 inches from the floor, to best 
accommodate all grades of pupils, provided the board is 3 feet 
6 inches wide. At the lower edge of the blackboard a moulding 
should be placed with a concave upper and a convex under sur- 
face, the trough part being used to bold the erasers and collect 
the chalk dust. 



6i 



INTERIORS. 

In many*of our school-buildings too much attention has been 
given and too much money expended on exterior decorations. 
While the appearance of a school-building is a matter of so 
much importance that it should receive careful attention, and 
while it should be as attractive as the means of the community 
will justify, yet it is the interior that will exert the greater 
influence for good or evil in forming the tastes and developing 
the qualities of the children. The exterior should be comely 
and attractive, and devoid of any appearance of extravagant 
decoration. The finish for the cornice, windows, doors and 
porticoes should indicate taste, judgment and regard for archi- 
tectural principles. The interior of the room depends more 
upon its coloring than upon any other single feature. The finish 
for the doors and windows should be plain, so that the least 
number of places for the accumulation of dust will be provided. 

The room should be surrounded with a wainscoting extend- 
ing from the lower part of the blackboard and windows to the 
floor. The spaces above the wainscoting and ceiling should be 
plastered with mortar, slaked and mixed with sand, at least four 
weeks before it is used. During the time the mortar is being 
slaked it should be carefully protected from the sun and rain. 

FLOORS. 

The floors should be of yellow birch. If this material is not 
within the means of the community, then a superior quality of 
spruce may be used. The floor surfaces should be "filled" with 
oil and treated with two coats of shellac. All schoolrooms 
should have double floors, with heavy building paper between, 
being careful to have the edges overlap to prevent the air pass- 
ing from the basement to the schoolroom. 

DOORS. 

There should be no thresholds in any part of the building 
except beneath the outside doors. All other doors should 
swing level with the floor, and should be provided with tran- 
soms at least one foot in height. All interior doors should be 
at least 3 feet wide, and not less than 7 feet 6 inches high. All 
outside doors should swing outward, unless they are double 
hinged. 



62 



INTERIOR FINISH. 

The interior finish of a schoolhouse should be of yellow birch, 
native oak, hard pine or a superior quality of spruce, the desir- 
ability of the woods being indicated by the order in which they 
are named. It is recommended that this wood be "filled" and 
covered with two coats of varnish, each coat being well rubbed 
down. In all interior finish it is desirable to have as smooth 
and plain a surface as possible to insure cleanliness. It is much 
better to have all the interior finish, including the doors, of the 
same kind of wood. 

COLORS FOR INTERIORS. 

If it is necessary to paint the wainscoting it should be of such 
a color as is produced by adding a small amount of raw sienna 
and chrome yellow to white paint, giving the tint known to 
painters as "cream white " and the standing finish should be of 
a slightly darker shade of the same color. 

The wall spaces not occupied by the blackboards or wain- 
scoting should be tinted a light cream, very light gray, light 
bluish gray, light greenish yellow or a light buff. In all cases 
the tints should be of the lightest and most delicate shades. 
The ceiling should be a very delicate cream tint. 

The floor should be the darkest surface in the room. The 
wainscoting should be of a somewhat lighter color than the 
floor. By this plan the colors become lighter as you pass from 
the floor to. the ceiling. 

LIGHTING. 

Much has been written on the subject of the proper lighting 
of schoolrooms. A number of the leading authorities upon this 
subject claim that the light should come exclusively from the 
north, and that the other sides of the room should be solid walls. 
There are more things to be considered in a schoolroom than 
the simple question of the direction from which the light shall 
enter the room. Thoughtful teachers have noticed that chil- 
dren are influenced by their feelings, and that the feelings of the 
average child are dependent upon the cheerfulness of the room. 
If only the north side of a room is provided with windows it is 
necessarily wanting in the elements of cheerfulness, and those 
conditions which are dependent upon the rays of the sun. 

There can be no question but that the healthfulness and 
desirability of a schoolroom is very much increased by having 



63 

the rays of the sun shine into it during some portion of the 
day. The flooding of the schoolroom with light will prevent 
or make impossible a great many diseases and a large number 
of- discomforts. It will aid, to a large extent, in making the 
room a place where the children like to assemble and live. It 
will give an air of graciousness to the room that can be gained 
from no other source. It is unwise to have the direct rays of 
the sun fall upon the children, and particularly upon their books 
or desks. It is also unwise to have cross rays striking upon the 
books used by the children. While all these things are true, it 
is also true that windows may be placed upon the east and north 
or west and north sides of the room, and gain all the advantages 
that come from light, heat and cheerfulness of the sun without 
suffering- from many of the disadvantages named above. 

The principal light of the schoolroom is preferably taken from 
the northeast, north or east ; the preference being in the order 
in which the points of the compass are named. Windows facing 
directly south or west should be avoided. 

If the windows are supplied with opaque curtains of a light 
yellow tint, they can be so arranged as to cut off the direct rays 
of the sun, and the cross lights will be reduced to a minimum; 
and all the advantages of lighting from two sides and direct 
radiation will be gained. 

DESKS. 

Single desks should be furnished in all schoolrooms, the 
discomforts and annoyances arising from the use of double 
desks being so great as practically to prohibit their use. The 
desk and seat should be easily adjustable to meet the physical 
conditions of the child. The seat should be of such construc- 
tion as will fit the curvatures of the body and make it easy for 
the child to do his work in an erect position, and it should be of 
such height as to permit his feet to be placed squarely upon the 
floor. The top of the desk should slant slightly toward the 
pupil, and be provided with a groove for holding pencils, and a 
covered ink well. 

The desks for the smaller scholars should be so placed that 
the edge of the desk next to and in front of the child shall be 
9 inches from the back of the seat in which he is seated. For 
intermediate grades this distance should be 10 inches ; in 
grammar grades, n or 12 inches; in high school grades, 12 



6 4 

or 13 inches. This is a matter of vital importance. Nine- 
tenths of all the desks in the schoolhouses of Maine, and a 
large share of the other tenth, are so far apart that children are 
forced to lean forward in unnatural positions to make use of 
them in writing and studying. 

The seats for the pupils in a schoolroom should be so 
arranged that they will face a wall in which there are no 
windows. 

The aisles at the sides and rear of the room should be' about 
3 feet wide, and the others should be about 20 inches wide. 
There should be, at least, 5 feet of space between the front desk 
and the front edge of the teacher's platform. 

VENTILATION. 

The simplest and most effective form of ventilation in 
school-buildings in rural communities is to have a cold air box 
extending from an opening in the foundation wall, under the 
floor, to a point immediately beneath the stove. This air 
shaft should be as short and direct as possible. It should be 
about 30 inches square for a single-room building, and covered 
at both ends with a coarse wire netting, and about one inch 
inside of this netting, screens should be placed similar to those 
used in dwelling houses to exclude flies. The opening beneath 
the stove should be provided with a slide which may be com- 
pletely closed during the time the room is being cleansed or 
swept. 

The stove should be surrounded by a Russia iron jacket 
which should be fastened securely to the floor, and extended 
above the top of the stove, at least eight inches, and if the stove 
is not too high this extension should be one foot. The sides of 
the jacket should not be within six inches of the stove. By this 
simple plan, fresh air is admitted to the room in any required 
volume, and passed near the stove in such a way as to be 
warmed before it passes into the room. 

The ventilating flue or chimney for schoolhouses of one 
room should be 30 inches square on the inside. It has been 
found best to have the smoke-stack made of thin cast iron or 
heavy sheet iron. This stack should be about 8 inches in diam- 
eter and placed in such position in the flue as to be most easily 
connected wth the heating apparatus. The register which opens 



65 

into the ventilating flue or chimney should be about 28 inches 
square, and covered with a coarse wire netting - , bordered by a 
moulding- on the outside. This opening should be within 2 
inches of the floor. 

Any schooihouse provided with these simple appliances for 
securing fresh air, and taking from the room the foul air, will 
be reasonably well ventilated at all times when the stove is 
used for heating purposes. At other seasons it will be neces- 
sary to ventilate through the windows and doors, or to have 
the register so arranged that it may be removed and a large 
kerosene lamp placed in the bottom of the ventilating flue. The 
heat generated by the lamp will be sufficient to insure an upward 
current of such force as to remove the vitiated air from the 
room. 

The value of an open fireplace in a schoolroom cannot be 
overstated. The cost of its construction is small. The expense 
of supplying fuel in Maine for many years to come will not be 
large enough to be a serious item, and the benefits derived from 
its general use will more than compensate for any investments 
that might be made in this direction. If a schoolroom is sup- 
plied with a fireplace and the chimney is thoroughly warmed 
once during the day, a sufficient current will be produced to 
make it one of the most efficient means of ventilation that can 
be devised. 

It is even recommended that school officials make the attempt 
to secure from the community using the schoolroom sufficient 
voluntary contributions to provide one of these heating appli- 
ances in every schoolroom in the rural sections of the State. 
They more than pay for their construction and maintenance by 
the added cheerfulness and attractiveness which they give to the 
room itself. The bright crackling fire produces an atmosphere 
so homelike that the children are unconsciously influenced not 
only to better conduct and better feelings, but to added industry 
and faithfulness. 

When all these means have been used there is one other pre- 
caution that should not be neglected. All schoolrooms should 
be opened, at least, fifteen minutes in the morning before the 
opening of the session, a few minutes during the recesses, not 
less than fifteen minutes at noon, and not less than half an hour, 
and better still three-quarters of an hour after the close of school 
5 



66 

at night. At these times all doors and windows should be wide 
open, and every facility furnished for the free passage of the 
air into, through and out of the schoolroom. School officials 
should see that the above requirements are faithfully observed 
by their teachers, and the observance of these instructions should 
be one of the conditions upon which they are retained. 

It takes much less time to heat a room filled with pure than 
with impure air. If one has but an hour to heat a room, and 
it is filled with impure air, he can save time and fuel by using at 
least one-third of that time in thoroughly ventilating the room 
and the remainder in heating it. If a room is not ventilated at 
the close of the session the impurities in the air will settle, to a 
considerable extent, into the walls. When the room is heated 
the next morning some of these impurities will leave the walls 
and be breathed over and over by the persons using the room. 

In an article prepared by the Department of Public Instruc- 
tion of New York the following principles are laid down for the 
instruction of those having charge of the erection of buildings 
of two, four, six or eight rooms. 

i. Two hundred cubic feet of air should be allowed for each 
scholar, provided the air is changed continuously. 

2. The foul air should be taken out of the rooms at or near 
the floor. 

3. The ventilating flue should be of sufficient capacity to 
take out the foul air. 

4. The ventilating flues should always be heated, to be of 
any value in exhausting air. 

5. The supply of fresh air must be sufficient to compensate 
for that taken out by the foul air shaft. 

By the courtesy of Dr. A. G. Young, Secretary of the State 
Board of Health of Maine, this Department is able to present 
in this report plans of schoolhouses. The designs are of the 
highest value, and it is hoped that those who are interested in 
these subjects will apply to the Secretary for a copy of his report 
for 1 89 1. This document should be in the hands of every 
person who is responsible for the housing and training of the 
children in the public schools of Maine, so that in the future 
when buildings are erected school officials will take advantage 
of the studies which have been made in this field and be able to 
protect the children from the punishments which have been 
inflicted upon them in the past. 



67 








Figure B. 



68 




Figure A. 

Section through vault for Small School Houses. 
Coombs, Gibbs and Wilkinson, Architects, Lewiston, Me. 



6 9 




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Figure C. 



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72 




Floor Plan of Longfellow School House. 
Coombs, Gibbs and Wilkinson, Architects, Lewiston, Me. 



73 










74 




Floor Plan of Garfield School Building — two rooms. 
Coombs, Gibbs and Wilkinson, Architects, Lewiston, Me. 



75 



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Floor Plan of Garfield School Building — three rooms. 
Coombs, Gibbs and Wilkinson, Architects, Lewiston, Me. 



7 6 




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